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Chapter no 20

A Reign of Rose (The Sacred Stones, #3)

ARWEN

IT WAS SHAMEFUL HOW LONGย it took for the reality of our new situation to dawn on me. Far, far too long. Iโ€™d been so distracted by my injuriesย and

Kane and our reunion that I hadnโ€™t put the most obvious new piece of our complex puzzle together in my mindโ€”

Kane had become full-blooded Fae, like me. Like his father. He was now capable of taking my place in the prophecy.

Which meant the truth Iโ€™d spent so many months coming to terms with

โ€”that even though I wanted more than anything to live, Iย wouldย die to save Evendell, to save my family, and my friends, and the man I lovedโ€”it wasnโ€™t the case anymore.

One of us would have to die to end Lazarus, as stated clearly in the seerโ€™s words, but now it was possible it could beย him.

Which would mean I would live. A near eternity without Kane. Knowing he had paid the ultimate price for my life.

I grasped at the stitches across my stomach as it heaved, Kaneโ€™s reassuring hand stroking my ankle once more.

This time it did nothing to soothe me.

Before this war was over, one of us would be dead.

One of us would leave the other behind. Alone. A greater suffering than anything I could imagine. There was no other way Lazarusโ€™s reign could end.

While I bowed to this ruinous realization, the strategizing had continued around me.

โ€œWe donโ€™t need to kill him,โ€ Hart was saying. โ€œJust to sack his city. Slay his army. Destroy his power source, which, thanks to your woman, has already been halved at least.โ€

โ€œIโ€™ve been exactly where you are,โ€ Kane swore, deadly calm. โ€œI know how this goes, Hart. All of your men will die.โ€

Hart shrugged. โ€œPerhaps, but is that not the risk each one of them signed up for?โ€

Oh, no.

Sometimes it surprised me how well Kane and I knew each other. Weโ€™d only met less than a year ago, and in that time gone with whiplash quickness from precarious allies to adversaries to friends, and now to something deeper, and much more profound than a couple. If I believed in such things, I would have called him my soulmate.

Which meant I knew what Hartโ€™s blind focus on beating Lazarus would elicit in the man beside me. What his own demonsโ€”the men and women, theย familyย heโ€™d lost when afflicted by the same thingโ€”would bring out in him.

Sure enough, Kane stood from the bed in an instant, his lighte rumbling. Sharp shadows of black and wisps of nightshade twined around his knuckles and wrists as he snarled, โ€œYou smug sack of shit.โ€

Valery crossed the room as quickly as Iโ€™d seen her move and placed herself in front of Hart and the sideboard. I sat up, my own warm lighte coursing down my veins and toward my fingertips in a way Iโ€™d only ever associated with seeing someone who needed to be healed. Some corner of my mind wondered if I were to look down, if I, too, would see yellow rays of light wreath themselves around my palms.

โ€œAre you really so eager to cash in the lives of those who have put their faith in you?โ€

โ€œAll right,โ€ the rebel cautioned, still seated atop his sideboard. โ€œAll right. Easy, everyone. Kane, your point is taken.โ€

He might have been placating him, as I knew it was fear that filtered through Hartโ€™s viridian eyes, but Kane surprised us both by breathing out evenly and running a hand through his hair. Silently, the dark talons and thorns around his forearms retreated into his tanned skin.

โ€œSo,โ€ Hart tried, calmer but still guarded. โ€œWhere is this blade you need?โ€

Kane scratched his neck. Silence gobbled up the cabin. My heart plummeted.

โ€œYouโ€™re fucking with me.โ€ Hart bit back a laugh. โ€œRight?โ€ โ€œKane,โ€ I breathed. โ€œYou left it there?โ€

โ€œWhen I awoke,โ€ Kane said, voice like gravel, โ€œremade, heโ€™d fled with it. I searched for him, and found you with that kingsguardโ€ฆโ€ A haunting, sorrowful expression contorted his face.

I fought the urge to scramble toward him and deposit myself into his arms. We had been apart for too long, and I wanted to hold him. Instead I said to Hart and Valery, โ€œWe may have one last card to play.โ€

Kane cocked his head in silent question. โ€œAmelia is in Solaris.โ€

His brows knit inward in sympathy. โ€œArwenโ€ฆShe isnโ€™tโ€”โ€

โ€œI know. She told me everything. I still think we can work with her. All she wants is safety for her people. She knows us winning this war is the best outcome for Peridot.โ€

Kane was not having any of it. Cold fury burbled up where so much love had just occupied his silver eyes. โ€œYou want me to trustย Ameliaโ€”โ€

โ€œAnotherย greatย fuck,โ€ interrupted Hart, who was examining his dirtied nails.

Once again Kane didnโ€™t bat an eye. โ€œAfter she betrayed us to side with Lazarus? After she had her own father killed? After she signed your fucking death sentence?โ€

โ€œSheesh,โ€ Hart muttered. โ€œWhat a bitch.โ€

โ€œBird,โ€ Kane tried, softer this time. โ€œIโ€™m not trying to insult you. Your positivity is one of my favorite thingsย aboutย you. But donโ€™t you think itโ€™s a little naive to believe thatโ€”โ€

โ€œI saidย work with her. Notย trust her. Hart, do you think you can get word to Amelia somehow? To tell her that if she can find the blade and bring it back to Onyx, we swear to spare her life despite her betrayal?โ€

โ€œArwenโ€”โ€ Kane nearly raged.

โ€œWait,โ€ Hart interrupted. โ€œYou donโ€™t even have your alliance with Peridot anymore?โ€

โ€œNo,โ€ I admitted.

โ€œSo the only army weโ€™re waiting on is Onyxโ€™s?โ€

Kane and I remained silent and Hart loosed a long, irritated sigh. He was right. Onyx and Hartโ€™s rebels alone, as fearsome as both armies were, couldnโ€™t defeat all of Lazarusโ€™s Fae soldiers. Let alone their allies of Amber and Garnet, too.

โ€œDo we have any other options to take Peridotโ€™s place?โ€

There were nine kingdoms in Evendell. Not counting Onyx and Peridot, or Amber and Garnetโ€”who had long ago aligned with Lazarusโ€”that left Jade, which was uninhabited; Pearl, which was army-less, too, its precarious location high above the clouds serving as defense enough; and Opal, which was a sprawling no-manโ€™s-land with only a handful of territories and a treaty that declared them neutral in all wartime affairs.

โ€œCitrine?โ€ Hart suggested.

โ€œWe tried,โ€ I said. โ€œThey wonโ€™t fight with us.โ€

โ€œAnd Arwen broke their princeโ€™s heart,โ€ Kane added with a cruel smirk. โ€œWhich didnโ€™t help.โ€

Hart grinned at me like that was a delectable piece of information. โ€œThat only leaves the Quartz of Rose.โ€

Kane shook his head. โ€œThe Scarlet Queenโ€”โ€

โ€œNow she,โ€ Hart mused, โ€œwas the greatest fuck. But the things she wanted me to do to her aโ€”โ€

โ€œHart,โ€ Valery admonished.

He went wide-eyed. โ€œWhat? People love that story!โ€ Kane rolled his eyes. โ€œThe Scarlet Queen is mad.โ€

Hart waggled his eyebrows at me as if to say,ย Yeah she is.

I couldnโ€™t decide if I found him repulsive or adorable. A bit of both?

โ€œAnd,โ€ Kane continued, โ€œsheโ€™s got her own unruly kingdom to keep an eye on. The southern dissenters still threaten to wage war on the north, and theyโ€™ve only grown stronger the past few years.โ€

โ€œCouldnโ€™t we try to convince her? Rose wonโ€™t be spared by Lazarus. Hart, if youโ€™ve hadโ€ฆintimate relations with the queen, wouldnโ€™t she be open to discussing with you?โ€

Hart shook his head. โ€œOnly if you were willing to tramp out her enemies in the south. Frankly, youโ€™d have better luck tracking down Aleksanderโ€™s army.โ€

โ€œNo.โ€ย Kaneโ€™s voice hadnโ€™t sounded so uncompromising the entire afternoon.

Aleksanderโ€ฆ

My mind drifted to a conversation Kane and Iโ€™d had in his cabin in Cragโ€™s Hollow that rainy, harrowing night.

โ€œI even convinced Aleksander Hale to join us, the leader of a peculiarly savage race of Fae called Hemolichsโ€ฆthey draw power from corpses, wounds, even their own injuries, making them unmatched warriors. Some drink the blood of animals, mortals, or other Fae to keep their lighte strong.โ€

โ€œWhy not?โ€ Valery asked Kane.

โ€œHe hasnโ€™t been seen in decades. And even if he hadโ€”I wouldnโ€™t trust that filthy Blood Fae for all the coin in this realm.โ€

A smile leapt up Hartโ€™s face. โ€œLoversโ€™ quarrel?โ€

โ€œI watched hundreds hanged because of him,โ€ Kane growled. โ€œMy own mother and brother among them.โ€

It was Griffin who had told me that Aleksanderโ€™s men, his army of Hemolichs, were enslaved by Lazarus and used like prized fighting dogs. That Aleksander had agreed to fight in Kaneโ€™s rebellion, but instead gave them up to Lazarus in turn for freedom for his people. By the time Kane and a handful of Fae escaped Lumera and he went looking for Aleksander, the Hemolich was gone. The last theyโ€™d heard, heโ€™d used his army to help the mad queen of Rose, Ethera, win her civil war against the south, and hadnโ€™t been heard from since.

โ€œYou didnโ€™t kill him?โ€ Hart asked, as if it were expected protocol to eviscerate any man who betrayed you.

โ€œHeโ€™s been hiding from me for fifty years.โ€

โ€œVendetta like thatโ€ฆโ€ Hart shook his unruly head of hair. โ€œWhyโ€™d you stop looking?โ€

โ€œI hadโ€ฆโ€ Kane tucked his chin down as if heโ€™d almost faced me but thought better of it. โ€œOther priorities.โ€

โ€œWell,โ€ Hart said, letting his leg drop over the edge of the sideboard. โ€œHeโ€™s in Rose, somewhere.โ€

โ€œWhat gives you that idea?โ€

โ€œEthera told me. When we wereโ€ฆโ€ Hart jerked his chin toward me with a boyish smirk. โ€œHaving intimate relations, as you said. The two of them made a blood oath years ago. Probably right around the time he left Lumera and swore his army to her cause.โ€

โ€œWhat was the nature of the oath?โ€ Hart shrugged. โ€œNo clue.โ€

Kane scratched his chin in thought. โ€œI always assumed a mortal like Ethera never aged due to some kind of spell or curseโ€ฆSeems itโ€™s the blood oath that keeps her so young.โ€

โ€œAnd so fucking crazyโ€ฆโ€ Hart said, eyes glazing over as if recalling a specific memory. When Valery cleared her throat, Hartโ€™s eyes found ours and he schooled his face. โ€œLook, betrayal a half century ago or not, Aleksander Haleโ€™s Blood Fae army is ten times more powerful than Roseโ€™s mortal one. Theyโ€™reย machines. They draw their power fromย blood. Drinking it, pulling from peopleโ€™s bodies, corpses, necrophilia, lathering themselves in itโ€ฆYou know what that means? Carnage, war, losing a fucking limbโ€”it only makes themย more powerful.โ€

โ€œI know that,โ€ Kane gritted out. โ€œItโ€™s why my father enslaved them in the first place. Both to fight for Solaris and to keep them from turning that power against him.โ€

โ€œYouโ€™re going to let your hurt feelings stop you from using an army like that?โ€

Kane remained silent, though his jaw had gone rigid.

โ€œHe tried once,โ€ I said softly. โ€œWe have no reason to believe Aleksander wouldnโ€™t deceive us again.โ€

โ€œGods, he betrayed the fallen son of Lazarus. Whoโ€™s now full-bloodedโ€ฆ Heโ€™s a dead man anyway. Heโ€™d probably be thrilled to work off his debt to you.โ€

Kane only said, โ€œWeโ€™ll get through to Ethera, somehow.โ€

โ€œSo,โ€ I said, my mind swimming a bit with all the new information. โ€œHart will get word to Amelia to somehow extricate the blade from the palace in Solaris in return for her life, and weโ€™ll speak with the Scarlet Queen and convince her to rally her army for our cause? Without endangering thousands of southern Rose livesโ€ฆโ€

The sharp-boned witch nodded in my direction, though Hartโ€™s expression darkened with doubt. And I didnโ€™t blame him. It was ambitious at best.

โ€œAmelia wonโ€™t believe you and I are aligned,โ€ Kane said to the rebel. โ€œHer default is distrust. Here.โ€

Kane pulled his motherโ€™s black signet ring from his pinky and offered it to Hart. โ€œShe knows what it means to me. Tell her itโ€™s a sign of my word.โ€

Amelia, who had been one of Kaneโ€™s closest friends. One of his only friends. Who knew his history, his sufferingโ€”my heart stirred for the bond theyโ€™d both lost.

Hart nodded, placing the onyx-and-silver ring in his pocket with care.

โ€œOnce we have our armies and the blade,โ€ I said, โ€œweโ€™ll bring everyone back here. How long do you think it will take Lazarus to rebuild even half the lighte we destroyed?โ€

โ€œTwo weeks,โ€ Hart said. โ€œThree, tops.โ€ โ€œWeโ€™ll move quickly, then,โ€ Kane said.

I was way ahead of him, already easing myself from the bed and sliding on borrowed boots.

Kane motioned back toward me. โ€œThank you again, Hart.โ€

โ€œDonโ€™t mention it.โ€ Hart hopped down from his spot atop the sideboard. โ€œKane, once we winโ€ฆ.โ€ For the first time, Hart appeared less assured. He

shot Valery a look that I couldnโ€™t quite read. โ€œI donโ€™t want our good men to war over the throne, and I know itโ€™s your birthright, butโ€”โ€

Kane shook his head. โ€œIt was my brotherโ€™s, not mine.โ€

An ache pulled at my chest with his words. With the memories I knew plagued him. Kane never wished to usurp his father. Not before he rebelled, not after when he inherited the throne from King Oberon in Onyx, and absolutely not now that he was full-blooded. It was his fatherโ€™s dream to have a true Fae heir on the Lumerian throne. Kane would never fulfill it.

Hart remained silent, showing a tact Iโ€™d yet to see from the spirited would-be king. He was waiting Kane out. Allowing him to make the first offer.

โ€œShould we win,โ€ Kane said in the end, โ€œas the son of Lazarus, I will crown you king of Lumera. You have the people of this realm behind you, and thatโ€™s what matters. In return, I only require that you will agree to a handful of my political requests, no questions asked.โ€

โ€œA generous offer.โ€ Hart grinned broadly. โ€œAnd one Iโ€™ll gladly accept.โ€

โ€œYouโ€™ve proven yourself a decent man,โ€ Kane said. โ€œPerhaps a pig, butโ€ฆโ€

Hart only laughed, rough and genuine. โ€œPerhaps so. But I love this land. I love these people. And each one of them deserves a life better than this one.โ€

โ€œIndeed.โ€ Kane nodded. โ€œIt will bring me great relief to see you take his throne.โ€

โ€œMe, too, friend.โ€

Kane extended his hand and the two men shook.

For some near-indescribable reason, the simple act made my throat tighten with emotion. I wondered if Iโ€™d just beheld something very pivotal for the future of all realms.

Kaneโ€™s bright eyes on mine told me he felt the same. โ€œDo you have a steed to spare? Iโ€™ve always found the first few days of the channel easiest on horseback.โ€

Hart shook his head. โ€œWe donโ€™t have that kind of time. Valery and her coven can open a portal between realms.โ€

Valery nodded to us both and excused herself, and Hart followed suit before stopping in the doorway. โ€œIf we succeed, there will be ballads written about this afternoon.โ€

Kane grinned that chilling, glittering smile of his and my heart thumped at his devastating beauty, multiplied only by his joy. โ€œI hope they leave out how many powerful women youโ€™ve fucked.โ€

Hart beamed. โ€œI donโ€™t.โ€

The door closed softly behind him, leaving just Kane and me, alone again at last.

He took a tentative step toward me and leaned down, brushing his thumb across my cheek and cradling my jaw. The curve of his silver rings slid gently along my chin.

Those slate eyes were tired, his face bruised, his hair shiny and tousled around his face.

Iโ€™d never be used to his heartbreaking looks.

I tried to swallow them, but tears pricked at my eyelids and slid silently down one cheek and then the other. Kaneโ€™s brows knit inward, worried.

But I shook my head and covered his warm, large hand with mine. We were going home.

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